Buying up games as they become hot is not a sustainable strategy. It takes nothing to produce a hot game.
I'm no fan of Zynga, maybe, but this statement is false. It's typical for large companies to begin doing corporate buyouts as a strategy as they transition out of the growth-company phase. (Think Oracle.)
If it took "nothing" to produce a hot game, then we'd be flooded with new gaming millionaires. Certainly there are a few, but how many social games that your aunt plays are coming from tiny shops? And, if they're actually making money, how many of those shops would turn down a big buy-out offer from Zynga?
I'm no fan of Zynga, maybe, but this statement is false. It's typical for large companies to begin doing corporate buyouts as a strategy as they transition out of the growth-company phase. (Think Oracle.)
If it took "nothing" to produce a hot game, then we'd be flooded with new gaming millionaires. Certainly there are a few, but how many social games that your aunt plays are coming from tiny shops? And, if they're actually making money, how many of those shops would turn down a big buy-out offer from Zynga?